


Merry + Bright

by greenwillow



Category: The Last Kingdom (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Because this is just a hundred percent pure marshmallow fluff, F/F, F/M, Finan is clueless, Gen, Osferth actually has his own thing going on and family relationships to boot, Sihtric is obsessed with sugar cookie decorating, Writer recommends hot chocolate consumption while reading
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:48:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28073466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenwillow/pseuds/greenwillow
Summary: Holiday Fun with Osferth and the Cookham Crew.
Relationships: Aethelflaed & Osferth, Finan & Osferth (The Last Kingdom), Osferth (c. 885-934)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 10





	Merry + Bright

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the TLK Monthly challenge! I rolled Osferth, Boxing Day, Lights, and Affectionate.

“D’ya know where my keys are, Osferth?” Finan shouts from the next room over. 

Osferth trips over a pile of laundry that, judging by the number of black t-shirts, belong to Sihtric and falls backward.

“Jesus, lad.” Finan bounds into the room and pulls him to his feet. 

“What on earth is that?” he asks, gesturing to the box that Osferth is clutching to his chest. 

“Nothing, just some things I need to drop off at the church. Father Pyrlig is collecting donations.”

Finan lifts his chin to peer into the box. “That’s the sweater I gave ya last Christmas.”

He’s right. It’s a particularly ugly sweater. “Yeah, well…I grew out of it.”

Finan laughs. “I won’t take offense. But ya’ve quite a lot of clothing there, ya sure ya won’t be wandering naked come laundry time?”

“I have more than enough clothes, thank you.” Osferth follows Finan back into the room he and Uhtred shared. “Do you have anything you’d like to donate?”

“D’ya think they’d accept my warm wishes, particularly for any young ladies in need?”

Osferth grimaces and wraps a scarf around his neck. “I don’t know that anyone would find that particularly helpful.”

“Pity. I have a few hats in that drawer there, I only really wear the one.”

Osferth gingerly hands Finan the worn black beanie he’s not often without this time of year and adds the remaining hats to his donation box. Finan pulls the hat down over his ears with a grin. 

“Now you’re telling me that you’re helping Father Pyrlig out of the goodness of your heart, and not, say, a desire to get closer to the cute girl with the braids I’ve seen ya making eyes at?”

Osferth meticulously folds the top flaps of the box over each other, making sure the envelope of cash tips from his restaurant job doesn’t get lost in the mess of textiles. “I’ve no idea who you mean.”

Finan laughs and shakes his head. 

To be honest, he isn't too far off—except that Osferth and Willa have been dating for weeks now. He’s planning to bring her to the house and introduce her to everyone next term. For now, he’ll let Finan think he had the upper hand even though Finan himself is pining over a girl he’d spoken to about twice. 

“You’re headed to the church now then?” Finan’s coat makes a slight jangling noise as he pulls it on. “Ah, found my keys.”

“Yes, they’re serving dinner in about half an hour.” Osferth glances at Finan from the corner of his eye as he puts on his own coat. “Eadith will probably be there, she’s been helping Pyrlig organize the donations.”

Finan pulls the corners of his mouth down and nods casually as if that information is virtually meaningless to him. Osferth chuckles into his scarf as they make their way down the narrow hall and into the kitchen. 

“Where are you two headed?” Eahlswith asks from her perch on the counter. She’s licking icing off a spatula while Sihtric decorates yet another batch of sugar cookies. He’s bent over the slightly lopsided kitchen table wearing a thrift store apron, meticulously applying sprinkles. Sihtric, for what it is worth, is the only member of the house with anything resembling a normal, stable love life.

“Church supper,” Finan answers as if it had been his idea. “Sihtric, are ya going to take a break from that? You've been baking for half the day now.”

“He’s got to finish decorating before the icing dries,” Eahlswith explains, rolling her eyes, as Sihtric mumbles, “I’ve only got thirty seconds per cookie to make it look really good.”

Osferth snatches an un-iced cookie off the tray and pushes the whole thing in his mouth before Sihtric can stop him. “I didn’t take one of your fancy ones!” he says defensively as Sihtric throws a dirty look in his direction and picks up the piping bag.

“We’ll see ya soon, then?” Finan says to Eahlswith. 

“We may still be here when you get back,” she sighs, picking up her phone. Sihtric waves a hand at them distractedly as they step outside.

The winter chill is refreshing after the stuffy sugar-filled air of the kitchen. Osferth shoves his hands in his pockets and bumps Finan with his shoulder as he catches a glimpse of Uhtred on his way towards them.

“Boys!” Uhtred calls with a grin. “I was just coming to find you. Finan, Eadith was asking about you.”

“Was she?” Finan asks, slightly more flustered than he probably would have liked to appear. 

“Well, she asked where my mates were, I can only assume she meant you.”

Finan mutters something unintelligible under his breath as Uhtred and Osferth exchange an amused glance. 

“I didn't know that you were allowed in church, Uhtred,” Osferth says, stomping one boot against the ground to keep warm. “Didn’t Father Beocca ban you for stealing the communion wine?”

“Yes, but in my defense, it hadn’t been blessed yet,” Uhtred grins. “I got roped into helping Hild clean, then she sent me to find you two…and where is Sihtric?”

“Finishing his cookie decorating,” Osferth says.

“He may be several more hours,” Finan adds. “There were nine types of sprinkles on the table when we left—they seem to multiply every time I turn ‘round.”

“The man has hidden talents,” Uhtred shrugs, heading down the street. “I’ll meet you back at the church, I have to drop something off at Gisela’s first.”

It’s Finan and Osferth’s turn to exchange a glance. Whenever Uhtred has to “drop something off at Gisela’s” they usually don’t see him until the next morning. 

Uhtred ignores them, merely calling over his shoulder that he’ll return soon. 

The snow begins to fall by the time they arrive at the church and carefully make their way down the side entrance into the basement. 

Young priest Father Beocca and his wife Thyra (Uhtred’s older sister) had begun the Boxing Day dinner tradition four years ago on a whim. They’d invited all the students who remained in town during the holidays to dinner at their house on the 26th and in return asked for donations to local families in need, but by last year it had become such a popular event that they’d had to begin hosting it at the church. This year, several students had returned for the day after spending Christmas at home. It’s always a casual but comforting affair. 

The basement room, which smells like freshly baked bread and Beocca’s famous lentil soup, is crowded with folding chairs and students who have gathered in small groups to sort donations into the designated bins. Osferth drops his box (and Finan) with Eadith and makes his way over to Willa and Thyra who are preparing the buffet. Willa gives him a quiet smile which he reciprocates as subtly as possible.

“Sihtric will be here with the cookies soon,” Osferth explains, hoping it isn’t too much of a lie. 

Thyra smiles cheerfully and hands him a stack of mismatched bowls. “Set those out, won’t you?”

Osferth does, making note of how many more students were in attendance this year. The energy in the church basement is anything but cold and dim—Father Prylig has set up an artificial tree in one corner, and Hild and Mildrith are stringing some colorful lights up above the door. 

“Better late than never, right?” Aethelflaed asks, appearing beside him.

Osferth glances down at the cheese board she’s holding. “You don't think that’s overdoing it a bit for this ragtag group?” he asks affectionately. 

She laughs and set the platter down. “Maybe, but I didn't want the leftovers from Mum’s Christmas party to go to waste.” She begins to arrange toothpicks for serving, her brow furrowing just slightly. “I’m sorry you couldn’t make it, by the way. Maybe next year?”

It’s an awkward situation, trying to connect with a half-sibling you’d only known about for the past few months, but she’s doing her best. 

“Yeah, maybe next year,” Osferth agrees. 

She gives him a small smile and glanced across the room. He follows her gaze to where Aldhelm and Edward are arranging half a dozen mismatched tables into two long lines. Edward hasn’t quite adjusted to the idea of a half-sibling yet, so things are a little more awkward between them. 

“He’ll come around,” Aethelflaed says confidently. Osferth wishes he shared her optimism, but he won't dampen her spirits. 

“Oh, here—“ Aethelflaed offers him a small package wrapped in brown paper. “I was going to give it to you yesterday, but…” she trails off, a bit nervous—he hasn't seen her nervous before. 

“It’s just something silly. You can open it later,” she adds, with a look towards Edward who now has his back to them.

“Thanks,” Osferth says, smiling widely, as he slips the gift into his pocket. “I didn’t get you anything—“

“Don’t worry about it,” Aethelflaed replies, eyes now fixed on Aldhelm who’s making his way over. “Next year.”

Aldhelm nods a greeting to Osferth and then begins to ask where to find tablecloths, which to Osferth appears to be a thinly veiled pretext to talk to Aethelflaed. She doesn’t seem to mind. 

“Your housemate is making quite a mess of the donations.”  
Hild is on his left now with a stack of napkins. 

“Yes, but better that than the food,” Osferth points out.

Hild chuckles quietly. Finan has an unfortunate talent for making even the simplest dishes inedible. 

“I see you and Willa are still keeping things a secret,” she adds, one eyebrow arched. 

Hild is the only person who knows they are dating, and it was entirely because she’d accidentally walked in on them making out one day after choir practice. Osferth isn’t worried she’ll tell anyone, but the fact that two days later he ran into her on the way out of Willa’s hall one morning is an extra layer of security. Hild and Iseult, Willa’s RA, aren't “officially” dating yet either. 

The tables are ready, the food all laid out. Brida, Thyra and Uhtred’s sister (who, to be honest, scares Osferth a bit) yells for everyone to make a plate.

“Thanks,” Osferth murmurs to Willa as she pulls a book off the chair next to hers. 

“I think Thyra is on to us,” she whispers back, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. 

Thyra is indeed beaming at them from the other end of the table. 

“She’s a lot smarter than Finan,” Osferth whispers back, and Willa laughs. 

Sihtric bursts into the room now, carefully balancing two large trays of sugar cookies. Eahlswith enters on his heels with another tray.

“Finally!” Finan shouts. 

“He’d still be decorating if I hadn’t taken away his sanding sugar,” Eahlswith says to Thyra, somewhat apologetic. “Yesterday I didn’t even know what sanding sugar was.” She sounds like she wishes she could go back. 

Sihtric oversees the display of his cookies with great pride, then he and Eahlswith manage to squeeze two more chairs around one of the tables. 

Thirty minutes later nearly everyone’s plate is empty. Every year Thyra tells Beocca he’s made too much food and every year she’s proven wrong. Finan, as usual, starts the singing, and nearly everyone has joined in by the time Uhtred and Gisela join them. 

It’s getting late, and everyone will probably head back to Uhtred’s house to drink after cleaning up, so Osferth helps clean up his table, thanks Beocca, and heads back to the house, taking a few bags of trash out on his way. 

He lingers a block away, scarf pulled up around his ears, where Willa meets him.

“Hey,” she grins, and rises up on her toes to kiss him. Snowflakes catch and melt on her eyelashes, making her brown eyes sparkle even more. 

He interlaces his fingers with hers as they make their way back to the house, carefully sidestepping patches of ice and hard ridges of snow. 

“Everyone will probably head back this way soon,” he says, glancing behind them as if Finan and Uhtred would be barreling down the street any moment. 

“I figured,” she says, lightly squeezing his hand. “It’s not the worst day for them to find out you have a girlfriend, right?”

Osferth grins. “No, definitely not.”

When, an hour later, Finan finds out, he exclaims “I knew it!”

Osferth lets him have this one.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed you can reblog [here.](https://aadmelioraa.tumblr.com/post/637514504694120448/merry-bright-for-tsukkinami-s-tlk-monthly)


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